Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has stated that increase in the number of domestic pilgrims in a single request will reduce the chances for qualifying the nominees in the Hajj’s e-draw.

The ministry’s clarification came after it announced that it would use the e-draw in the mechanism of nominating applicants from domestic pilgrims for Hajj 2022, in order to provide equal opportunities for applicants for Hajj from within the Kingdom.

The ministry said that the nominators who meet the requirements would be selected through an e-draw, stressing that the results will be without prioritizing, criteria or setting specific preferences, whether in gender or nationality.

It noted that notifying the nominators of their qualification for Hajj 2022 will begin on Sunday 13/11/1443 AH corresponding to 12/6/2022.

The ministry indicated in the guide to the conditions and mechanism for registering domestic pilgrims for Hajj this year that the optional package is the package that is selected in the event that the preferred package seats has expired according to the price that has been chosen by the individual during registration.

If a group of individuals register in one request the system deals with the entire group as one request, the ministry noted, while pointing out that if one of the individuals who has registered does not meet the conditions, then the entire request will be canceled.

Additionally, if any of the persons who have registered do not complete filling out the required data, he will be notified to complete the registration.

In regard to the condition that this year’s Hajj will be limited only to those who have not ever performed the Hajj rituals before, the ministry said that the condition would be checked according to the data of the Hajj and Umrah Information Center.

The ministry indicated that the bill should be paid within 48 hours only, and holidays and vacations are not counted within the time limit available for payment.

The reservation process will be canceled if the bill is not paid within the specified period.

The ministry warned that according to the cancelation policy, if the applicant cancels the Hajj permit without canceling the reservation after he was successfully nominated for Hajj and received a text message and completed the payment process, no money would be refunded to him.

Any delay in canceling the reservation after canceling the Hajj permit will have financial consequences, according to the cancelation policy that includes that any delay for each day entails a deduction of a percentage of the reservation value according to the detailed schedule.

In the guideline for Hajj 2022, the Ministry said that the mechanism for requesting a refund is via the e-track: https://localhaj.haj.gov.sa, or via the technical support number: 920026265, or through the Eatamarna app, which begins with submitting a request for a refund, then choosing the bank, entering the IBAN, and then the request will be reviewed and implemented within 7 working days.